Great skill and variety. Words fail me, everything is so beautiful. To see is to receive a gift. Exquisite presentation. Excellent items. Absolutely stunning (Akld). Magnificent, beautiful work (Australia). Open Studios' Jewel in the crown. Hidden Oasis.
Totally amazing. Fabulous — 3rd visit. My favourite stop so far. Always a great experience. Loved it all. Very inspiring (Wellington). WOW. Glad we came. One of the best exhibitions (Taupo). We saved the best art studio until last."
Thank you so much, everybody.
EVA BUSCH and HEINA PETZOLD
Awa Art Hub
State houses
In the Wanganui Chronicle of April 5, Lindsay Stockbridge and group reiterated that they do not want state houses built on vacant land near their homes.
The impression one gets is that, because they had the opportunity to work hard and now own their homes, they are somehow superior to less fortunate people who did not have this opportunity, or who cannot keep up mortgage repayments.
They seem to condemn both unbuilt houses and the as-yet-unseen tenants as having an inferior lifestyle to theirs. This attitude seems an example of snobbery.
M MARSHALL
Whanganui
Nebulous returns
I would like to congratulate the Wanganui councillors on Horizons for opposing Horizons giving money to sporting and cultural facilities within its region.
Horizons was set up to control and police environmental issues within its area.
Unfortunately, it has already exceeded this remit. One that always annoys me is to see signs bearing road safety messages paid for by Horizons along with those from the district council and NZTA, whose job it is to erect such signs. How many expensive projects does Wanganui need?
We were told the art gallery was going to be built at no cost to the ratepayer. Yeah, right.
These projects always end up being under-budgeted, requiring both large capital input from the ratepayers plus an ongoing cost to run and maintain into the foreseeable future.
We are also told that each and any of these projects will be an asset to the city and will bring large amounts of cash to Wanganui. It is never demonstrated how this money will benefit the ordinary working or retired ratepayer who have paid for them.
Any suggestion that the retail or hospitality industry, which will directly benefit from any extra money spent in the town, pay for the asset, is met by howls of protest from their organisations. If these expensive assets were ever going to return a profit, commercial interests would be competing to build them.
Roofing the velodrome is a classic example of a relatively small group of people with a common interest wanting the public at large to pay for, or at least heavily subsidise, their particular hobby. Even Cycling New Zealand has demonstrated that it is not really interested in giving a firm commitment in either money or major crowd-pulling events though it will be prepared to give lip service, which is free.
Wanganui District Council, an organisation usually dominated by independent businesspeople to whom rates are a relatively small part of their personal budgets, seem prepared to spend our rates on these items in exchange for nebulous future benefits, but to expect Horizons to do the same is several steps too far.
SHAUN FORLONG
Mowhanau
River clean-ups
The Opinion column in a recent Saturday Chronicle drew attention to the Horizons Regional Council Long Term Plan consultation process.
Nicola Patrick described some history to the proposed goal in the draft plan for 70 per cent of rivers in Regional Council rivers and lakes to be "swimmable" by 2030.
This contrasts with the national target of 80 per cent by that year.
I hope Horizons will reconsider this proposal and revise it upwards to improve the health of more streams of our region.
Readers who share this view may also choose to encourage them to do so.
DAVE CAMERON
Whanganui
Send your letters to: The Editor, Wanganui Chronicle, 100 Guyton St, PO Box 433, Wanganui 4500; or email editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
